Origin of D&D words/names?

[Dirigible]

It's pronounced "MUH-ree".

For some reason, tieflings have always made me think of the word tiers (probably cos of the tie formation). As in the Infinite Tiers Of The Abyss.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

For some reason, tieflings have always made me think of the word tiers (probably cos of the tie formation). As in the Infinite Tiers Of The Abyss.

As German is my native language, I always wondered why they'd use a German word (It's the same with Doppelganger, which only lacks the ä) in an English work, while they often use English words around here.

 

[s/LaSH]

Let's crack out the Shorter Oxford:

Aasimar/aasimon: Nothing. Closest term: aasvogel (from old Afrikaans aas carrion + vogel bird) A vulture.

Odd.

Genasi: Nothing. Closest term: gena, from Latin for cheek. In an invertebrate, especially an insect, either lateral part of the head below the level of the eyes.

Odder.

Sahuagin: Nothing. Closest term: Sahuaro, variant of Saguaro, probably from Uto-Aztecan: A tree-sized branching cactus, found in desert regions of Mexico and the south-western USA.

That's just worryingly odd.

Tiefling (and by the way, for those who don't speak German, 'ie' is pronounced 'ee' not 'i' in that language): Nothing. But the closest term is indeed Tief, pronounced 'teef', a West Indies word, both verb and noun, meaning 'to steal' or 'thief'.

That's actually fairly appropriate...

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Aasimar/aasimon: Nothing. Closest term: aasvogel (from old Afrikaans aas carrion + vogel bird) A vulture.

....

But the closest term is indeed Tief, pronounced 'teef', a West Indies word, both verb and noun, meaning 'to steal' or 'thief'.

And both are German words, too: tief - deep (and the suffix -ling is used in German, too), and it has aas and vogel (although Aasvogel isn't used, but rather Aasgeier).

I really don't think Aasimar has anything to do with Aas (just a coincidence), but tief I think is a reference to the lower planes.

 

[William Ronald]

Aasimar may well be modeled after the Aesir, the group of Norse deities including Odin and Thor. The Old Norse root, as I recall, is either aes, as, or asa.

Some names are taken from literature. The vorpal blade first made its appearance in Jabberwocky by Lewis Caroll.

 

[Kilmore]

The Derro were in literature too. Some 30's science fiction book I believe.

 

[Kae'Yoss]

At least they invented elves and halflings just for D&D

 

[andargor]

Re: Re: What about Sahuagin?

Nope but here's a phonetic pronunciation from a text file I have (attached to this post):
Sahuagin: sah-HWAH-gin

Nice file, but I object to a couple of those:

Bulette: should be bew-LET
Vargouille: should be var-GOO-eel

Andargor

 

[Kae'Yoss]

Re: Re: Re: What about Sahuagin?

Bulette

And another monster with a German name (Bulette means meatball)

 

[andargor]

Re: Re: Re: Re: What about Sahuagin?

And another monster with a German name (Bulette means meatball)

Or French boulet or boulette, which means "small ball".

Boulette de viande is "meatball".

Andargor